July 28-August 1, 2013  

Dunhuang, China.  

 (Call for papers)  

Co-sponsored with The American Ceramic Society  

SCOPE OF MCARE2013  

MCARE2013 (Materials Challenges in Alternative & Renewable Energy 2013) aims to facilitate information sharing on the latest developments in materials for alternative and renewable energy sources and systems. The overall efficiency, effectiveness and practicality of potential future energy sources and systems are directly related to many materials and related factors. Some of these key features include materials costs, availability and improvements in chemical, mechanical, electrical and thermal properties of materials now being considered, as well as the ability to produce and fabricate materials that work effectively in areas of energy generation, storage and distribution.  

Energy 2013 will include tutorials and invited overview presentations on leading energy alternatives by global leaders as well as technical sessions addressing state-of-the-art materials issues involved with future energy sources systems.  

Emphasis will be on materials challenges and innovations in areas of batteries and energy storage, biomass, electric grid, geothermal, hydrogen, hydropower, nuclear, solar power and wind.  

   

HISTORY OF MCARE2013  

The Materials Challenges in Alternative & Renewable Energy series of meetings was started in February 2008 in Cocoa Beach, Florida. This meeting was organized by The American Ceramic Society and ASM International under the leadership of George Wicks and Jack Simon. This meeting was designed with an interdisciplinary approach of assembling leading experts in the field to discuss and focus on materials innovations in an emerging hydrogen economy.  In February 2010, ACerS teamed with ASM International plus the Society of Plastics Engineers to convene MCARE 2010 in Cocoa Beach, Florida.  This second meeting attracted over 225 people and included participants from 20 countries, including China.  MCARE 2012 is being held in February 2012 in Clearwater Beach, Florida and is expected to attract over 275 people.   

In 2011, ACerS, George Wicks and Jack Simon decided to organize an MCARE meeting every other year in the United Sates and to co-sponsor meetings in other countries.  ACerS then agreed to co-sponsor MCARE 2013 in Dunhuang City, China.  

   

Topics:  

•Batteries and Energy Storage Batteries are devices that convert chemical energy into electrical energy. There are many types of batteries available, representing a multi-billion dollar industry. Among the battery types of much interest are standard lead acid batteries, Li-ion batteries, supercapacitor, and redox flow battery. Materials improvements are critical in making these energy systems more effective in the future.  

•Biomass  

Biomass is energy derived from organic plant and animal matter including wood, crops, manure, and municipal solid wastes. When burned, the energy in biomass is released as heat but it can also be converted to other forms of energy like methane gas, ethanol and biodiesel.  

•Electric Grid  

The Electric Grid is an interconnected network designed to deliver electricity from various energy sources, and involves controlling the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The grid cannot store significant amounts of power, so electricity must be generated as it is needed, by millions of consumers at any moment in time. Therefore, an efficient and effective control system is essential to match electric generation with use. It is critical to improve the reliability, efficiency and security of this system.                                

•Geothermal  

Geothermal electricity is electricity generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power plants, flash steam power plants and binary cycle power plants. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 24 countries, while geothermal heating is in use in 70 countries. The U.S. produces more geothermal electricity that any other country, but this still amounts to less than 1/2 of one percent of all energy generated. Most geothermal reservoirs are deep underground but can find their way to the surface as volcanoes, hot springs and geysers. California has almost three dozen geothermal power plants that produce the largest fraction of U.S. energy from this source.  

•Hydrogen  

Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of domestic sources, including fossil fuels as well as from renewable resources and can be stored in gas, liquid or solid forms. There is considerable work in progress on development of materials and systems for effective hydrogen storage. This alternative is considered a promising energy concept of the future, but like many alternatives, there currently is no infrastructure in place to produce, store, transport or distribute hydrogen effectively.                                   

•Hydropower  

Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as watermills, sawmills, textile mills, dock cranes, and domestic lifts. In China and the rest of the Far East, hydraulically operated "pot wheel" pumps raised water into irrigation canals. Since the early 20th century, it is used almost exclusively in conjunction with the modern development of hydro-electric power. Worldwide, an installed capacity of 1,010 GW supplied hydroelectricity in 2010. Approximately 16% of the world's electricity is renewable, with hydroelectricity account for 21% of renewable sources and 3.4% of total energy sources. The hydroelectricity shares more than 50% of all renewable energy sources. China has the largest annual energy production, 652.05TWH, and installed capacity 196.79GW in the world.  

•Materials Availability for Alternative Energy
Tying all of the alternative energy technologies together is the availability of the materials needed to solve the issues for creating, storage and distribution of energy. The supply chain for the materials and parts that are necessary to create new alternative energy scenario is crucial. Whether we find that materials are less available, or we find new uses for less expensive materials and materials systems, we will have to develop this supply chain to move forward. The theme of materials availability is, and will be, a major challenge as we develop our new and sustainable energy infrastructure.       

•Nuclear  

Nuclear power extracts usable energy from atomic nuclei by controlled nuclear reactions and most often, through nuclear fission. On a global scale, there are more than 400 operating nuclear power plants in more than 30 countries, which generate about 30% of the energy produced in the European Union and almost 20% of the energy produced in the U.S. Among the advantages of nuclear energy are no greenhouse emissions.  

•Solar Power  

Solar power is energy derived from sunlight and can be converted into various forms of energy such as heat and electricity. The conversion to electricity can take place by photovoltaic (PV) or solar cells, as well as by use of solar power plants. The 354 MW SEGS CSP installation is the largest solar power plant in the world, located in the Mojave Desert of California. Other large CSP plants include the Solnova Solar Power Station (150 MW) and the Andasol solar power station (150 MW), both in Spain. The 200 MW Golmud Solar Park in China, is the world’s largest photovoltaic plant.                                

•Wind
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships.  

Worldwide there are now many thousands of wind turbines operating, with a total nameplate capacity of 194,400 MW. World wind generation capacity more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2006, doubling about every three years. China rapidly expanded its wind installations in the late 2000s and passed the U.S. in 2010 to become the world leader. Again in 2011, China continues to dominate the world wind market, adding 8 GW in only 6 months, the highest number ever within the first half year. Within those 6 months, China accounted for 43 % of the world market for new wind turbines, compared with 50 % in the full year of 2010. By June 2011, China had an overall installed capacity of around 52 GW.  

GUIDELINES TO AUTHOR  

   

Authors are required to send a soft copy of abstract and unpublished research work through Easy Chair online submission or email to sklab@lut.cn. online submission of the paper through following websie.  

 http://MCARE2013-Dunhuang.dconference.cn   

Advisory & Technical Planning Committee  

Prof.Li YiYi, Institute of Metal Research (IMR),Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)  

Prof. Hu WenRui, The Institute of Mechanics,Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS),  

Prof.Chen LingQuan,The Institute of Physics (IOP),Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)  

Prof.Yi BaoLian,Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP),Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)  

Prof.Yang YuSheng,Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT)  

Prof.Wang ZhiPing, Lanzhou University of Technology (LUT)  

Prof. Zhuang DaMing, Tsinghua University  

Dr. Jack Simon, Technology Access and Alpha Sigma Mu Honorary Society  

Dr. George Wicks, Savannah River National Lab  

Dr. Thad Adams, Savannah River National Lab  

Dr. Joel Ager, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab  

Dr. Ming Au, Savannah River National Lab  

Dr. Amir Farajian, Wright State Univ.  

Dr. Brenda Garcia-Diaz, Savannah River National Lab  

Dr. Frank Goldner, U.S. Dept. of Energy  

Prof. Hong Huang, Wright State Univ.  

Dr. M. Ashraf Imam, Naval Research Lab  

Dr. Natraj Iyer, Savannah River National Lab  

Prof. Puru Jena, Virginia Commonwealth Univ.  

Dr. Enamul Haque, Bostik, Inc.  

Dr. Abhi Karkamkar, Pacific Northwest National Lab  

Dr. Gene Kim, Cookson Electronics  

Mr. Richard Marczewski, Savannah River National Lab  

Dr. Rana Mohtadi, Toyota Technical Center, NA  

Dr. Ali Raissi, Florida Solar Energy Center, Univ. of Central Florida  

Dr. Bhakta Rath, Naval Research Lab  

Dr. Robert Sindelar, Savannah River National Lab  

Prof. Rick Sisson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute  

Ms. Hidda Thorsteinsson, U.S. Dept. of Energy  

Ms. Agatha Wein, U.S. Dept. of Energy  

Dr. Kristine Zeigler, Savannah River National Lab  

Dr. Ragaiy Zidan, Savannah River National Lab  

Conference Co-Chairs  

Prof. Zhiping Wang, Lanzhou University of Technology (LUT), China  

Prof. Yiyi Li Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMR CAS), China  

Dr. George Wicks, Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC, USA  

Dr. Jack Simon, Technology Access, Aiken, SC, USA  

Location  

The MCARE2013 conference will be held in Dunhuang city, China. Dunhuang is a city in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It is best known for the nearby Dunhuang Caves. It is situated in a rich oasis containing Crescent Lake  and Mingsha Shan Mountain named for the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the singing sand phenomenon. It commands a very strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern Silk Route and the main road leading from India via Lhasa to Mongolia and Southern Siberia, as well as controlling the entrance to the narrow Gansu Corridor which led straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an) and Luoyang.  

   

(map of China)  

Important dates  

Last date for abstraction submission: Jan. 30,2013  

Notification of acceptance: Feb.30, 2013  

Final paper submission date: Mar.30, 2013  

Registration without late fee: May 30, 2013  

Conference Date: July 28-August 1, 2013  

Hotel and travel Information  

Hotel informations
Conference will be held in The Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel. The Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel is founded in 1995. Situated against the backdrop of the picturesque Mingsha Sand Dunes. The hotel captures the spirit of the Tang Dynasty with its unique architectural design - the large rooftops and long corridors of the Han and Tang dynasties; the typical enclosed courtyard style design and mud walls of the northwestern part of China; and the replica of the late Tang, Ming and Qing dynasties furniture. All these work together to recapture the flavour of a bygone era with their simplicity and use of natural building materials. For more information please check the following websites.  

   

http://www.dunhuangresort.com/jden/index.asp  

http://enweb.dha.ac.cn/0034/index.htm  

Contact information:  

Prof. Shengzhong Kou,Lanzhou University of Technology (LUT)  

Prof. Yuandong Li, Lanzhou University of Technology (LUT)  

Email:sklab@lut.cn  

Phone: +86-931 2976688  

Fax +86-931-2976578